Assessment in the Music Learning Theory–Based Classroom
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Assessment in the Music Learning Theory–Based Classroom Oxford Handbooks Online Assessment in the Music Learning Theory–Based Classroom Jill Reese and Heather Nelson Shouldice The Oxford Handbook of Assessment Policy and Practice in Music Education, Volume 2 Edited by Timothy S. Brophy Subject: Music, Music Education Online Publication Date: Jan 2019 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190248130.013.58 Abstract and Keywords This chapter provides a brief history of how instruction and assessment used by music learning theory (MLT) practitioners evolved from Edwin Gordon’s research on music aptitude. It describes aptitude tests created by Gordon, the purpose of these tests, and the ways in which MLT practitioners use this data to inform instruction and evaluate student growth. It outlines the ways in which MLT practitioners assess students’ achievement within the context of classroom activities in elementary general music settings and provides examples of measurement tools teachers may use to assess the students’ development of musical skills. Finally, it includes suggestions for ways in which teachers can use assessment data to individualize instruction, guide curricular decisions, evaluate students’ musical development, and reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching. Keywords: music learning theory, elementary general music, achievement, aptitude, assessment, evaluation, measurement Jill A. Reese and Heather N. Shouldice (p. 477) FOR elementary general music teachers, a variety of pedagogical approaches, methodologies, and learning theories exist to inform instructional choices. Music learning theory (MLT), developed by Edwin Gordon, is one such learning theory. While MLT is not a teaching method, many teachers and scholars have used the theory to develop methodological materials for teaching in a variety of contexts including early childhood, elementary general, piano, and instrumental music. Regardless of the context, assessment is at the heart of MLT-based teaching and learning. Teachers measure students’ music aptitudes and music achievement and use this data to inform instruction Page 1 of 30 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). Subscriber: OUP-Reference Gratis Access; date: 28 January 2019 Assessment in the Music Learning Theory–Based Classroom and guide curricular decisions, all with the goal of developing students’ audiation and helping them attain their maximum individual potentials. In this chapter, we share a brief history of how MLT-based instruction and assessment evolved from Edwin Gordon’s research on music aptitude, and we demonstrate how MLT practitioners assess student growth and use this information to guide their teaching. We describe the aptitude tests created by Gordon, the purpose of these tests, and the ways in which MLT practitioners use this data to inform instruction and evaluate student growth. We outline the ways in which MLT practitioners assess students’ achievement within the context of classroom activities and the measurement tools they may use to do so. Finally, we suggest ways in which teachers can use assessment data to individualize instruction, guide curricular decisions, evaluate students’ musical development, and reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching. Audiation, Aptitude, and the Development of Music Learning Theory (p. 478) In this section, we describe audiation and aptitude and consider how Gordon’s understanding of audiation, aptitude, and MLT evolved as he developed standardized tests of music aptitude. We also examine the ways in which aptitude and achievement are different. Finally, we describe some of the standardized tests of music audiation and aptitude created by Gordon and used by MLT-based teachers. Audiation and Aptitude The most prevalent idea associated with MLT is the concept of audiation. Audiation is “hearing and comprehending in one’s mind sound of music that is not, or may never have been, physically present” (Gordon, 2012, p. 389). Gordon (2012) believed that “audiation is integral to both music aptitude and music achievement” (p. 3) and that audiation development should be at the core of music education. The Music Aptitude Profile (MAP), Gordon’s first standardized test of music aptitude, was the seminal work that informed his thinking about audiation, aptitude, and music education (Gordon, 2005). While the MAP could be used successfully to measure the aptitude of students 4th grade through 12th, Gordon discovered that the MAP would not work for children younger than 9 years old and theorized this might be because music aptitude does not stabilize until approximately 9 years old (Gordon, 2005). As his research on aptitude continued, he developed two additional tests intended for use with younger children whose aptitude is developmental and has not yet stabilized: Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA) (Gordon, 1979) and Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation (IMMA) (Gordon, 1982). Page 2 of 30 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). Subscriber: OUP-Reference Gratis Access; date: 28 January 2019 Assessment in the Music Learning Theory–Based Classroom During the development of the PMMA and IMMA Gordon discovered an important precept about developmental music aptitude: it is sensitive to and influenced by music instruction and other environmental influences before it stabilizes (Gordon, 2005). This discovery was later supported by Flohr (1981), who found that short-term music instruction had a significant effect on the PMMA scores of children. Flohr found that PMMA scores of children who received music instruction were significantly higher than those who did not receive music instruction, and he suggested that gains in scores could diminish if instruction ceases or if teaching effectiveness decreases. Music learning theory is based on the belief that teachers have the opportunity to affect their students’ aptitudes positively and the belief that rich and developmentally appropriate elementary general music experiences are imperative for later musical achievement. “Realistically, the purpose of music instruction after age nine is to assist students in achieving in music to the extent their musical potential will allow, whereas the purpose of music instruction (p. 479) before that time is to provide environmental influences for stimulating music aptitude” (Gordon, 2005, pp. 26–27). As Gordon developed the music aptitude tests, he applied his knowledge of music aptitude and learning theories in general education to his work with school-aged children. He began to develop a practical theory of music learning that would eventually become known as music learning theory. Though the music aptitude tests provide important data regarding the individual music potential of each student, teachers initially were unsure about how to use that data meaningfully to teach to individual differences and help students maximize their unique potentials. Gordon emphasized the tests are not an end; they are a means to an end: “The primary purpose of the test battery [was] to assist teachers in teaching to the individual musical differences among students” (Gordon, 1989, p. iii). Therefore, in collaboration with his students and colleagues, Gordon began to develop curricula based on MLT (Gordon, 1989; Walters & Taggart, 1989). Many curricula based on MLT have been developed for use in different contexts including early childhood, instrumental, and general music (e.g., Grunow, Gordon, & Azzara, 2003; Taggart, Bolton, Reynolds, Valerio, & Gordon, 2000; Valerio, Reynolds, Bolton, Taggart, & Gordon, 1998). Aptitude and Achievement Though music aptitude and music achievement are linked, they are not the same. Aptitude is the potential to achieve, whereas achievement is the realization of that potential through formal and informal learning (Gordon, 2012). Music aptitude is multidimensional, normally distributed, and influenced by nature and nurture (Gordon, 1987). Each person is born with a certain level of music aptitude that fluctuates depending on the richness of his or her environment and the interactions in which they engage. Gordon suggests the environment affects whether aptitudes persist at birth level or lower (Gordon, 1987). The richer the environment and interactions, the greater the chances of maintaining original levels of aptitude. As mentioned earlier, music aptitude is Page 3 of 30 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). Subscriber: OUP-Reference Gratis Access; date: 28 January 2019 Assessment in the Music Learning Theory–Based Classroom developmental and sensitive to environmental influences until approximately age 9, at which time music aptitudes stabilize (Gordon, 2012). That is not to say one cannot achieve musically or continue